Engine speed governing means



Jan. 19, 1960 I e. H. WETTERHAHN 2,921,641

ENGINE SPEED GOVERNING MEANS Filed Sept. 20, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 41 I m {i 7/ 5,

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J 1960 G. H. WETTERHAHN 2,921,641

ENGINE SPEED GOVERNING MEANS Filed Sept. 20, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

FROM AIR 04 0mm United, States rite-mo 2,921,641 ENGINE SPEED GOVERNING MEANS George H. Wetterhahn, Pontiac, Mich, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich a corporation of Delaware Application September 20, 1956, Serial No. 611,056

1 Claim. (Cl. 18082.1)

This invention relates to engine speed governing means for governing the speed of engines employed in driving motor vehicles and has particular relation to engine speed governing means that may perform different functions related to the speed of the vehicle and the engine or that may be employed in series in controlling the speed of the vehicle and the engine.

It is proposed to employ the shaft driven centrifugally actuated valve for controlling the speed of a motor vehicle, of an engine employed in driving the vehicle and, if desired, to employ the same device in driving means for indicating the speed of the vehicle. It is further actuated valve means 30. Sealing means 38 and 39 may be located inwardly of the bearing means 36 in the cover 31 and body 33, respectively, to prevent leakage of fluid around the shaft 37. Sealing means 39 may be made in the form of a double sealing means to provide an annular inlet chamber 41 that is sealed against leakage in either direction along the shaft 37. The annular inlet chamber 41 will be seen to be in continuously open communication with inlet passage 25 and with a recess 42 formed in the shaft 37. The recess 42 is connected to a transverse passage 43 formed across the shaft within the chamber 29 by an obliquely disposed passage 44 extending along the length of the shaft. actuated valve 46 is mounted in a transverse passage 43 within the chamber 29. The valve includes a valve shaft 47 extending through the passage 43 and having proposed to employ such a device in series with another similar device to goven the speed of the engine.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatical illustration of a vehicle and engine speed governing system that may be employed in operating a motor driven vehicle and in indicating speed of the vehicle.

Figure2 is a fragementary view of centrifugally actuated valve means employed in the mechanism of the system illustrated by Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view illustrating a modification of the system disclosed by Figure 1.

The engine governing system 10 disclosed by Figure 1 may embody a number of devices including an engine throttle actuating device 11, a vehicle speed responsive governing device 12 and an engine speed responsive governing device 13. The actuating device 11 is adapted to operate an engine throttle 14 located in an induction passage 16 leading to the cylinders of an internal combustion engine 17. In the present instance the throttle 14 is adapted to be actuated by a spring 19 to the fully open position of the throttle and by a link 21 to the closed position of the throttle. The link may be connected between the throttle 14 and a diaphragm 22 extending across a suction chamber 23 formed in a casing 24 adapted to be supported upon the engine 17 in any suitable manner. The suction chamber 23 is adapted to be connected to the induction passage 16 between the throttle 14 and the cylinders of the engine by passage or conduit means indicated at 26 and 27. It will be apparent that the actuating device 11 will tend to close the throttle 14 when the suction in the induction passage 16 as reflected in the pressure of the fluid in the chamber 23 reaches a predetermined value.

The suction chamber 23 is also connected by air bleed passage or conduit means 26 and 28, inlet passage 25 and a centrifugally actuated valve means indicated at 30, to a valve chamber 29 formed in the vehicle speed responsive device 12. The valve chamber 29 may be formed in a casing 31 attached to the engine 17 or other convenient support, by bolt means indicated at 32. The casing 31 may be formed to provide a body 33 and a cover 34, each including bearing means 36 supporting a rotatable shaft 37 extending transversely across the valve chamber 29 and forming a part of the centrifugally a weight 48 resiliently supported on one end thereof by an enlarged head, Washer, and rubber sleeve unit indicated at 49. The opposite end of the shaft 47 is threaded to receive an adjusting nut 51 having a spring 52 com pressed between the nut and the part of the shaft 37 surrounding the outwardly extending end of the shaft 47. The shaft 37 is provided with fluted port means 53 for controlling the flow of air from the chamber 29 by way of the passage 44, the recess 42, the inlet chamber 41, passage 25 and bleed passage means 28 and 26. When the shaft 37 is not rotating, as is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the port means 53 will permit the flow of air from the chamber 29 to the suction chamber 23. The flow of air will be great enough to prevent the suction of the engine from closing the throttle. However, when the shaft 37 reaches a predetermined rotational speed the weight 48' will move the shaft 47 to restrict the flow of airfrom the chamber 29 to the suction chamber 23, thereby permitting the suction through the conduit mean s 26, 27 to move the diaphragm 22 to move the valve 14 toward the closed position of the valve.

The shaft 37 may be rotated by a flexible cable 56 in a flexible sheath 57 having coupling means 58 for securing the opposite ends thereof to the casing 31 of the governing device 12 and to the casing 59 surrounding the transmission of the engine 17 and into the rear end of which the propeller shaft 61 of a motor vehicle 62 projects and is mounted. The flexible shaft 56 and the shaft 37 have splined coupling means 63 within the casing 31 whereby the shaft 37 is driven by the flexible shaft 56. The propeller shaft 61 which is indicative of the speed of the vehicle 2 drives the flexible shaft 56 through gear means within the casing 59. The valve mechanism 46 is therefore responsive to the speed of the vehicle and by adjusting the nut 51 to adjust the'spring 52 the valve may be made to close the passage through the flutes 53 to operate the diaphragm 2?. to close the valve 14 at any desired speed of the vehicle. Coupling means 64 also is employed for securing the flexible sheath 66 of the flexible shaft 67 to the casing 31. The shaft 67 is also attached to the shaft 37 within the casing 31 by splined coupling means indicated at 63. Flexible shaft 67 may be connected to a speedometer 69 located on the instrument panel 71 of the motor vehicle 62 for indicating the speed of the vehicle at any time. Air may be supplied to the chamber 29 through air conduit means 72 which may be connected to the atmosphere through an air cleaner not shown, as is illustrated by Figure 3, or may be connected to the air cleaner and the atmosphere through the engine speed responsive governor device 13 illustrated by Figure 1. The device 13 may embody the distributor 73 of the engine or may be otherwise connected directly to the engine in any suitable manner. In any event the engine driven shaft 74 of the device 13 is adapted to be mounted in a casing '76 having an inlet passage 77 to which conduit means 72 is A centrifugally connected in any suitable manner. The passage 77 communicates with an inlet chamber 78 in the casing 76, the inlet passage being formed in a double seal 79 mounted on the shaft 74 to prevent leakage of air around the shaft in eitherdirection. Within the inlet chamber -78 the shaft is formed to provide a recess 81 communicating through an obliquely disposed passage 83 with a transverse passage 82 extending across the shaft 74 within an air sup ply chamber 84 formed in the casing 76. The transverse passage 82 is adapted to receive a centrifugally actuated valve mechanism 86 similar to the centrifugally actuated valve mechanism 46 previously described. The valve mechanism 86 may be adjusted by the adjusting nutto cause the valve to reduce or cut off the flow of air through passage 83, recess 81, inlet chamber 78, inlet passage 77, conduit means 72 and to the suction chamber 23 through the valve and conduit means previously described. Air from the atmosphere may be supplied through an air cleaner or otherwise, to the chamber 84 through conduit means 87 connected to the casing 76. The valve mechanism 86 may be adjusted to cut off the flow of air at any desired engine speed thereby causing the throttle valve 14 to be moved toward the closed position thereof in response to the operation of the device 13.

It will be apparent that either of the devices 12 or 13 may cut off the flow of air to the suction chamber 23 thereby causing the throttle valve '14 to move toward the closed position of the throttle. The engine 17 therefore may be governed to limit the speed of the engine at any predetermined speed of the engine or the vehicle with which the engine may be employed.

I claim:

An engine governing device comprising actuating means adapted to close an engine throttle, a suction chamber I having means associated therewith and connected to said throttle for closing said throttle in response to a predetermined reduction in pressure in said suction chamber, pas? sage means connecting said suction chamber to the intake passage in which said throttle is employed and between said throttle and the engine, an air bleed passage 0611- I nected to said suction chamber and adapted to supply air to said suction chamber to prevent said pressure in said suction chamber from reaching said predetermined pressure, a pair of valve casings having valve chambers formed therein, said casings having air inlet and outlet means therein and connecting said valve chambers in series in said air bleed passage, rotatable shafts mounted in said valve casings and extending across said valve chambers and having ends extending through said valve casings, ccntrifugally actuated valves mounted on said shaftsin said valve chambers and adapted when said shafts reach a predetermined speed to decrease the flow of air from said valve chamber outlets, drive means engaging one end of one of said shafts and driving said one of said shafts at a rate having a constant relation to the speed of a motor vehicle with which said engine is employed, driven means engaging the other end of said one of said shafts and driving means indicating the speed of said vehicle, drive means engaging one end of the other of said shafts and driving said other of said shafts at a rate having a constant relation to, the speed of said engine, and an ignition distributor for said engine driven by the other end 'of said other of said shafts.

References Cited in the file of this patent I UNITED STATES PATENTS Reynoldson May 24; 1955 

